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An Assessment of the Current State of the Manx Gaelic Language

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An Assessment of the Current State of the Manx Gaelic Language A study of language death and revival with a particular focus on Manx Gaelic M.A. Dissertation 2009 Simon Ager Abstract This dissertation explores themes of language death and revival, with a particular focus on Manx Gaelic. The first chapter aims to define language death, discusses the scale of the phemenon, how and why it occurs, and why it is a matter of concern. It also compares a number of methods used to assess the vitality of languages. The second chapter looks at how languages such as Hebrew, Irish and Cornish have been revived or revitalised. It aims to discover common themes in language revivals and revitalisations, and discusses why some have been more successful than others. Chapter three provides a brief overview of the history of Manx and an account of its decline. Chapter four focuses on the revival of Manx and discusses such topics as Manx in education, families and literature, the official status of Manx and the organisations involved with Manx language and culture. Chapter five contains details of the methodology used to collect information for this dissertation, much of which, particularly details of the revival, current state and possible future of Manx, was collected during a visit to the Isle of Man in June 2009. Chapter six provides an assessment of the current state of Manx and examines use of the language in public, education, families and other domains. Chapter seven explores possible ways in which the Manx language may develop in the future. The final chapter summeries the topics discussed and compares the revival of Manx with other language revivals. This dissertation shows that the reasons for language decline and death are many and complex, and that it is possible to revitalise declining languages and to revive dead languages. It also shows that the decline of Manx has been reversed, and that Manx is now a living language with a small but ever-increasing number of speakers. ii Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................ vi Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 1 1. Language death ................................................................................................................................... 2 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 What is language death? ............................................................................................................... 2 1.3 How many languages are currently in use?................................................................................... 3 1.4 How many languages are endangered? ......................................................................................... 3 1.5 How and and why do languages die? ............................................................................................ 3 1.6 Assessing the vitality of languages ............................................................................................... 5 1.7 Why is language death a matter of concern? ................................................................................ 6 1.8 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 8 2. Language revival and revitalisation .................................................................................................... 9 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 9 2.2 The revival of Hebrew .................................................................................................................. 9 2.3 The revival of Irish in Belfast ..................................................................................................... 10 2.4 Other language revivals .............................................................................................................. 11 2.5 Why are some language revivals more successful than others?.................................................. 13 2.6 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 14 3. The decline of Manx ......................................................................................................................... 15 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 15 3.2 History of the Manx language ..................................................................................................... 15 3.3 The decline of Manx ................................................................................................................... 15 3.4 Demographics of the decline of Manx ........................................................................................ 20 3.5 The breakdown of intergenerational transmission ...................................................................... 20 3.6 The last native speaker? .............................................................................................................. 21 3.7 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 21 iii 4. The Revival of Manx ........................................................................................................................ 22 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 22 4.2 Beginnings of the revival ............................................................................................................ 22 4.3 Manx language and culture organisations ................................................................................... 23 4.5 Use of Manx in publications, literature and the media ............................................................... 25 4.6 Sound recordings ........................................................................................................................ 26 4.6 Manx as a living language .......................................................................................................... 27 4.7 Official status of Manx ............................................................................................................... 28 4.8 Manx in education ....................................................................................................................... 29 4.9 Manx medium education ............................................................................................................. 32 4.10 Manx in families ....................................................................................................................... 33 4.11 Manx in businesses ................................................................................................................... 34 4.12 Hostility to Manx ...................................................................................................................... 34 4.13 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 35 5 – Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 36 6 – Current state of Manx ..................................................................................................................... 37 6.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 37 6.2 Use of Manx in public ................................................................................................................. 37 6.3 Manx in schools .......................................................................................................................... 39 6.4 Manx music and dance ................................................................................................................ 40 6.5 Manx in families ......................................................................................................................... 40 6.6 Manx in the media ...................................................................................................................... 41 6.7 Manx language provision for adults ............................................................................................ 41 6.8 Government policy on Manx ...................................................................................................... 42 6.9 Motivations for learning Manx ................................................................................................... 43 6.10 Opportunities to use Manx ........................................................................................................ 43 6.11 How many Manx speakers are there? ....................................................................................... 44 6.12 Conclusion ...............................................................................................................................
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